Mother Approaching Sixty
Print
2003 (made)
2003 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Frank Bowling came to Britain from Guyana in his mid-teens. He studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London but, after numerous rejections by the art establishment, he moved to New York. There, influenced by friends such as the painter Larry Rivers and the critic Clement Greenberg, he gave up his figurative style and began to work in the idiom of Abstract Expressionism. Bowling has worked almost exclusively with oil or acrylic on canvas since this time, and this print can therefore be seen as an interesting departure in his work.
Although Bowling was sent away to Britain to finish his schooling, his mother remained an enduring influence in his life and work. This portrait seems simultaneously to show an individual. and to speak of the strong matriarchal figure that is virtually a stereotype in Afro-Caribbean society.
The print was made as a fund-raiser for Aljira, a centre for Contemporary Art in Newark, New Jersey, which staged a retrospective of Bowling’s work in 2003.
Although Bowling was sent away to Britain to finish his schooling, his mother remained an enduring influence in his life and work. This portrait seems simultaneously to show an individual. and to speak of the strong matriarchal figure that is virtually a stereotype in Afro-Caribbean society.
The print was made as a fund-raiser for Aljira, a centre for Contemporary Art in Newark, New Jersey, which staged a retrospective of Bowling’s work in 2003.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Mother Approaching Sixty (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Photo-etching on paper |
| Brief description | Mother Approaching Sixty (2003) by Frank Bowling. Etching and aquatint. |
| Physical description | Image of face of a black woman over which, has been drawn a red circle about the same diameter as the face, the shoulder area merging into a greenish yellow abstract texture. The paper is a fawn colour. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Limited edition |
| Copy number | 1/40 |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Frank Bowling 03. / 1/40. / GP' (Signature and date; edition number; chop mark) |
| Credit line | Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund |
| Production | This print was made as a benefit print for Aljira, a centre for Contemporary Art, Newark, New Jersey, which staged a retrospective of Bowling's work in 2003. Attribution note: The print was produced as a fund raiser for Aljira Centre for Contemporary Art, Newark, New Jersey, who staged an exhibition of Bowling's paintings in 2003 Reason For Production: Retail |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Frank Bowling came to Britain from Guyana in his mid-teens. He studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London but, after numerous rejections by the art establishment, he moved to New York. There, influenced by friends such as the painter Larry Rivers and the critic Clement Greenberg, he gave up his figurative style and began to work in the idiom of Abstract Expressionism. Bowling has worked almost exclusively with oil or acrylic on canvas since this time, and this print can therefore be seen as an interesting departure in his work. Although Bowling was sent away to Britain to finish his schooling, his mother remained an enduring influence in his life and work. This portrait seems simultaneously to show an individual. and to speak of the strong matriarchal figure that is virtually a stereotype in Afro-Caribbean society. The print was made as a fund-raiser for Aljira, a centre for Contemporary Art in Newark, New Jersey, which staged a retrospective of Bowling’s work in 2003. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.3581-2004 |
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| Record created | November 25, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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